Thanks to the latest updates, Red Bull was significantly more competitive in Miami than in the first three races of the year—but excess weight remains a key issue
Red Bull has significantly closed the gap on the competition: A new update package deployed in Miami appears to have had an effect. This could be primarily related to the RB22’s excess weight, which was reduced by about half with the help of the new parts.
Instead of the previous twelve kilograms, Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar’s RB22 now weighs only six kilograms above the minimum weight of 768 kilograms. However, this also means that weight reduction remains a key focus for Red Bull’s ongoing development.
“Yes, I think there will be another step,” confirms Technical Director Pierre Wache. This should make Red Bull even more competitive. “I don’t know when, but we will have another weight reduction, perhaps for Austria.”
Red Bull’s update package “delivered” in Miami
In addition to the current weight reduction, Red Bull’s latest update package also included heavily revised sidepods, a new underbody, and a fix for an issue in the steering system. All of this worked well in Miami.
“Yes, it delivered what we expected,” a satisfied Red Bull technical director confirmed to Motorsport.com, “It’s simply the package itself that delivered.”
“And after we fixed a few other issues, that also brought some additional [performance from] Max that we might not have expected.” It marks Red Bull’s first real progress in 2026, even compared to McLaren and Ferrari, who also brought major upgrade packages to Florida.
Red Bull to bring further updates only in Europe
Mercedes has already hinted at responding with a significant update package in Canada, though Red Bull will logically not follow suit immediately. Wache explains that his team will bring only minor changes to Montreal but is focusing primarily on development for the European races.
“We still have to wait a little bit; just a small step for Montreal,” says the Frenchman, who leaves open, however, whether Red Bull’s further updates are planned for Monaco, Barcelona, or also not until the Austrian Grand Prix.
The first step, however, has been taken. “It’s not easy, but I’m definitely disappointed with the result. I don’t think the result [in Miami] reflects our pace,” believes Wache. “But it’s good for the team to show that the car has pace and that we’re back in the midfield.”
